The Sedalia weekly bazoo. [volume] (Sedalia, Mo.) 187?-1904, 1887-06-14
WHAT'S IN A NAME2
IL Is by No Means the Least Important Fac
tor I'm a Mans Career.

Ii Is by No Means the Least Important Fac
tor I'm a Mans Career.
A name Is certainly not the least I'M
portant factor in ynan ) career. How
much more difficult would il be for a
Muggins or Finigan to gain accept
ance a. n poet, however great his tai
ent, than for TennySOn or Milton.
No matter how great 4 mans energy.
talent or courage may be, an odd or
ridiculous name will be clog 10 him
through life. and add immensely to his
difficulties in making his way upward.
OF what avail is a mans aristocratic
appearance, correct dress. coat of the
most fashionable cut and satisfactory
balance ut the bank if his visiting card
condemns him to pity or to ridicule?
What a consolation it must be to lady
afflicted with a disagreeable name to
know that she may have an oppOrtu-
nifty of changing it for a better in a
way ut once gratifying to her PRIDE and
her affections. This privilege of the
ladies has been assumed by the POpes.
who change their names when they
are chOsSs aS successors to 1T. Peter.
The introducer of this Papal custom.
Sergius H., may well be excused for
the innovation, seeing that his own
name signifies hogs mouth. Melanc-
thon was not above this weakness, and
he adopted the Greek form of his
proper name, which signified BLACK
Earth" and the learned Erasmus made
a similar transformation of his Dutch
name Gerard.
In the time of Louis XIV. distin-
guished writer, who was a member of
the academy, councillor of state and
a friend of Richelieu, had the misfor-
tune to bear the inappropriate name
of Gueux (beggar. Can we wonder
at his adopting the name of his patri-
mOnial estate and calling himself Bal
FAC? Many other instances might be
quoted of men of talent and eminence
being dissatisfied with the names that
were borne by their ancestors.
Some people. in their anxiety to COM
pensate their children for the vulgar or
ridiculous family names which they
have inherited couple with them what
they consider aristOcratic, euphonius
Christian names. Hence we have such
combinations As Gladys Beatrice Higgs.
Constance Aurelia Smith and Victor
Augustus Jones. One can symp,;hize
with the fact that many pleasing hours
of consultation and discussion are
given to the young mother ard her
husband in deciding what n.me will
sound mellifluously and assert most
fittingly with the sterling and attract
i've qualities which are so susceptibly
packed up in the little eherub, their
tirst-born.
The ancients had many superStitions
rs TO names. and even elevated the
study to science under the title of
When the Romans raised
an army or numbered the citizens they
were always careful that the first name
taken should be an suspicious one.
More than one Emperor owed his ele-
walton simply to his name, and Casa1
i'm his expedition to Africa gave a COM
mand to obscure Scipio because the
people believed that the Scipios were
in Africa. Similar influence
weighed with the French ENJOYS who
went to negotiate a marriage between
one of the Spanish princesses and Louis
VIII. They rejected Urraca. the elder
and more beautiful princess. who was
intended for their royal master, and
preferred her sister because her name,
Blanche, had q more musical sound.
The Spanish Ambassador to the
SQUIRT of Elizabeth considered his dig
nifty sighted when the Queen sp-
pointed wealthy citizen to receive
him because his host bore the very
short name of John Cuts. He soon
found, however, that if Cuts had q
short name he had a long purse and
right royal way of dipping into it for
the sake of upholding the English name
for hospitality.-AH the Year Round.
My daughter was troubled with Heart
Disease for Ave years, given up by pnysi-